Fierce, Fabulous & Fearless: Bollywood Characters That Slayed 2023

Movies have always been our favourites. They are the best way to not only entertain ourselves but also to educate ourselves. Films that come with a power pack of entertainment, education, and activism are best for recreation. Yet, what truly lingers in our hearts and minds after the credits roll? It's the characters.

Characters are the thread that binds viewers to the movies. When viewers identify with or get inspired by the characters in the movies, they remember them forever. The characters and the movies etch a memory in the minds of the viewers that connects them with sweet and sour incidents of their lives. So in this article, we are going to see some phenomenal female characters created by Bollywood movies in the year 2023

Debika Chatterjee 

Rani Mukerji played the role of Mrs Debika Chatterjee in the film Mrs Chatterjee vs. Norway. The character stayed with many of us as it portrayed a mother who was ready to go to any extent and fight any battle to protect her children. The film was about Mrs Chatterjee’s fight against Norwegian law, enforcing authorities to gain back the custody of her two children. It was also about a woman’s fight against her husband’s injustice to protect herself and her children. 

 Anina

Anian from the movie Ghoomer is another phenomenal female character in 2023. Essayed by Saiyami Kher, Anani is an athlete with a serious hand injury. Despite the injury, Anani doesn’t fail to achieve her goals. Helped by her coach, Padam Singh (played by Abhishek Bachchan), Anani doesn’t lose hope and determination to fulfil her dreams in sports. Anani’s character teaches us the same unwavering determination towards our goals.

Sukhee

Played by Shilpa Shetty, Sukhee is a character that identifies with every Indian woman out there. She is a middle-class housewife with a phenomenal academic history. Like many other women, she feels stuck in her monotonous life where her husband and child don’t value her role as a homemaker. Later on, she reclaims her life by reliving her school time with her female friends, whom she comes across during a school reunion. Sukhee teaches the viewers about the value of homemakers and the need to give them agency over their lives. 

Rubai

Essayed by Deepika Padukone, Rubai is a character in the movie Pathaan that breaks many stereotypes. As Rubai, Padukone comes to the screen as a woman performing action scenes. She is neither the villain nor the hero. But the normal woman who has her grey sides and who just wants to revenge her father’s death. It is not very common to see female characters performing action scenes on-screen, especially in movies headed by male actors. But Padukone as Rubai sets a new trend. 

Characters of the movie Dhak Dhak

How many times have you seen women riding bullets? The multi-starer movie Dhak Dhak has characters that break many records on and off the screen. The movie is about four ordinary women who defy the norms of their society and drive to the highest motorable pass in the world- Khardung La pass. Each character, be it Ratna Pathak Shah defying her age, Dia Mirza going against the norms of her religion, Sanjana Sanghi and Fatima Sana Sheikh defying norms as young women, the characters are inspiring and set new goals of activism among women.   

There are still many characters that have left a mark in our memories. But the point is are we embracing them the way they should be? Are we using them to activate our lives? Or are we just dismissing them as yet another fiction that can never be real? 

Views Expressed Are The Author's Own.